Vietnamese fisherman have continued to complain of Chinese harassment in the disputed South China Sea.

Since June this year, Vietnamese fisherman venturing into the Paracel islands have reported being continuously chased and attacked by Chinese boats.

A Vietnamese officer from the Border Guards in Quang Ngai province told the Vietnamese news website Zing that 21 fishing boats had been attacked by the Chinese in recent months.

Of these, three boats were rammed and two sank.

It was a similar story in district of Binh Son, where the vice president of the people’s committee in the area old media that 14 boats had been attacked.

The Vietnamese Minister of Agriculture and Development confirmed that China had been harassing fisherman to prevent them from fishing in the disputed Paracel islands territory, and other parts of the South China sea.

Tensions between Vietnam and China over the disputed waterway came to a head in 2014 when Beijing moved an oil rig into waters claimed by Hanoi.

The move sparked weeks of deadly anti-China protests across Vietnam.

Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia also have competing claims in the sea.